Wonderscope’s interactive exhibits aim to instill a lifelong fascination with learning in kids aged 10 and younger through hands-on play that mixes education with fun. Elements of art, science, and literature are on display throughout as kids explore themed environments such as TinkerSpace, an otherworldly sanctuary for building structures and contraptions. Raceways explores elements of physics, such as motion and combing your hair like Einstein, whereas H2Oh! moisturizes young minds with interactive lessons on the properties of water. At Wonderscope's newest exhibit, _Ready Vet Go!, children can step into the roles of veterinarian, trainer, and pet owner as they learn the importance of animal ownership and care. Over at the Baby Nursery, kids can assume the role of doctor and learn how to take care of a newborn child.

Have fun looking at all the lovely pieces on display at Bonner Springs' Wyandotte County Museum.
With a sizzling plate of terrific food, this museum boasts among the best eats this side of the city.
Youngsters are more than welcome to join mom and dad at this museum.
Parking is plentiful, so patrons can feel free to bring their vehicles.

Rekindle childhood memories as you walk through the National Toy and Miniature Museum. This 38-room Italianate mansion turned museum holds an impressive toy collection with over 300,000 items. The museum is from the combine collections of lifelong friends and collectors, Barbara Hall Marshall and Mary Harris Francis. As one of the world’s largest private collection of toys and miniatures, this museum welcomes over 25,000 guests each year. Walk into this open mansion and view the world’s largest marble collection or peek into one of the antique miniature doll houses. Explore the other rooms that feature collections of miniature paintings, lovable teddy bears, and much more.

Treat your eyes to some world-class art at Kansas City's Alexander Majors Historical House.
Pick up a tasty meal at their restaurant, located conveniently within the museum.
Grab the kids when you head to this museum — its family-oriented atmosphere perfect for the whole clan.
Parking is plentiful, so patrons can feel free to bring their vehicles.

Founded in 1990, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is a privately funded, non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the rich history of African-American Baseball. Experience a tour of multi-media displays, museum store, hundreds of photographs, and artifacts dating from the late 1800s through the 1960s.

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In their first year, infants are constantly hitting developmental milestones. This means that some artworks are actually a perfect match for their growing minds. So, the next time you’re planning a visit to the museum, don’t call the sitter. Instead, hit up this handy age-based guide to our favorite works of fine art for babies. Someday, your kid will thank you.At Two Months…...babies recognize and turn toward sounds. Art Your Baby Might Respond To: Sound installations, from recordings embedded in visual art to rooms filled with speakers. Your baby might even feel right at home participating in an interactive piece such as Yoko Ono’s Voice Piece for Soprano, which instructs visitors to scream. Where to See It: New York City’s Museum of Modern Art hosts the aforementioned Ono piece, but the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Contemporary Arts Museum Houston are also good bets.At Four Months…...babies smile at people and start to mimic facial expressions. Art Your Baby Might Respond To: Portraits—the bigger, the better (for baby’s developing vision). Andy Warhol’s saturated pop art icons, such as his 15-foot Mao Zedong or silk-screened Marilyn Monroes, are a good entry point. Fair warning: the latter may result in your baby pursing his lips at everyone for a while. Where to See It: The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.At Six Months…...mirrors catch a baby’s attention and keep them glued to their own reflection. Art Your Baby Might Respond To: Contemporary sculpture with polished metal or mirrored surfaces. Start with interactive artist Daniel Rozin, whose perception-bending works use mirrors, software, and projections to skew viewers’ appearances. Who knows, they may give your baby an early sense of life’s volatility. Where to See It: The Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia, and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas both house pieces by Rozin.At One Year…...babies turn to look at objects they know by name. Art Your Baby Might Respond To: Artwork depicting familiar animals, such as Frida Kahlo’s Self-Portrait With Monkey or Frank Gehry’s 22-foot-tall sculpture of a carp, entitled Standing Glass Fish. Where to See It: Kahlo's piece can be found at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, and Gehry’s megafish resides at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

It might seem logical to hold off on museum outings until your kids are old enough to spell “museum.” But if you plan it right and know where to go, there’s no reason a toddler must wait for that first glimpse of culture. To prove it, we’ve compiled this list of five museums for toddlers and babies. The best part? You’ll get some culture out of it, too.The National Portrait Gallery | Washington, DCAmerica’s foremost collection of portraits gives faces to the names that made history, from the Founding Fathers to modern-day icons. Perfect for: Babies. Infants are naturally drawn to human faces, so portraiture is the perfect medium to kick-start their love of art. Recommended Exhibit: Champions pays tribute to famous American athletes, so your kids might recognize some familiar faces. Even if they’re too young to follow sports, the portraits showcase dynamic movements that are sure to catch their eye. Pro Tip: Snag one of the museum’s Portrait Discovery Kits, which are filled with games and activities to help kids aged 4–14 explore the exhibits.Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum | Tucson, AZSpread across 98 acres, this unique outdoor museum lets kids get up close and personal with the desert’s natural wildlife. Perfect for: Children who love the outdoors and hate being cooped up inside. The museum is home to 2 miles of walking trails, so it helps if your kid’s already taken those first steps. Recommended Exhibit: Kids can see some of the desert wildlife in action at any of the live animal presentations, which include meet-and-greet sessions with lizards and rattlesnakes. Pro Tip: Keep a close eye on the thermostat in spring and summer. Since the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is an actual desert, temperatures regularly rise above 100 degrees.Henry Ford Museum | Dearborn, MIA celebration of the Industrial Revolution, this museum began as Henry Ford’s personal collection and has since grown to include 90 acres of indoor and outdoor exhibits. Highlights range from the 1909 Model T to Thomas Edison’s laboratory. Perfect for: Tonka-Truck-loving Transformers fans will be in heaven, as well as kids eager to get their hands on the exhibits. Recommended Exhibit: Macy’s Second Mondays are designed specifically for toddlers, with displays, entertainment, and activities all taking place before nap time (10 a.m. to noon). Kids will get a chance to see some of the museum’s most memorable artifacts, including the Herschell-Spillman carousel, which they can even ride. Pro Tip: The museum is stroller and small-wagon friendly, so it’s easy to cart your kids around if they insist on riding in a Radio Flyer. If you forget yours at home, there are a limited number of strollers for rent.The Center for Puppetry Arts | Atlanta, GAA collection spanning the entire globe celebrates the artistry behind Southeast Asian shadow puppets, Malian hand puppets, and some familiar faces from Jim Henson’s labs. Perfect for: Any kid with a soft spot for Kermit the Frog, the residents of Sesame Street, or the mystical creatures of Dark Crystal. Recommended Exhibit: Head to the North and Central American Collection to find some familiar faces for the kids, such as Jim Henson’s Swedish Chef and Rowlf the Dog. Pro Tip: Purchase an all-inclusive ticket, which provides access to the Create-a-Puppet Workshop, where kids as young as 2 can build their very own puppet to take home.The Art Institute of Chicago | Chicago, ILWith more than 300,000 works of art spanning every major historical period, this sprawling museum is chock-full of all the art you (and your kids) can handle. Perfect for: Young princes and princesses will love the medieval arms and armor exhibit, while Picassos-in-training will revel in the modern collection’s bright splashes of color. Recommended Exhibit: The Elizabeth Morse Touch Gallery is the only spot in the museum that actually lets kids touch the art. Here, they can get a real feel for the differences between sculpture styles. Pro Tip: For parents of the littlest visitors, there’s a curtained-off Infant Care room equipped with a changing table and chair.Photos: Pedro Martinez courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery. Ferruginous Hawk 007 by Jöshua Barnett under CC BY 2.0. 1909 Model T courtesy of The Henry Ford Museum. Jim Henson Puppets by Richard Termine courtesy of The Center for Puppetry Arts. Female Bust (possibly Aida), courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.

If you’re an avid museum-goer intent on seeing every last sarcophagus and decommissioned spaceship America has to offer, those admission costs can add up quickly. But getting a regular dose of culture doesn’t have to be such a strain on your wallet. Some of the country’s best (and weirdest) museums are 100% free, 365 days a year. Check out our list of the country’s top free museums to see where you can learn about everything from fine art to fake vomit, all without spending a penny.Smithsonian Air and Space Museum | Washington, D.C.The Smithsonian only houses the foremost collections of historic airplanes and spacecraft in the world. Here, you’ll find at least one landmark craft from every era in the history of flight, from Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis to the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, which flew reconnaissance missions during the Cold War. There’s even a collection of lunar vehicles from the Apollo missions.The Museum | New York City, NYEver wanted to see a carefully curated collection of fake vomit? What about toothpaste tubes from around the world? If you’re a normal, sane person, the answer is probably “No,” but sometimes we don’t know a great thing until we see it. Case in point: The Museum in New York, one of the world’s smallest (and certainly one of its strangest) museums. The collection here is constantly changing, but the crown jewel—the shoe thrown at President George W. Bush in 2008—is always on display.Art Car Museum | Houston, TXWho knew cars could be transformed into actual works of art? The vehicles on display at Art Car Museum aren’t your typical restored beauties, but they have their own charms. Instead of hot rods, you’ll find bicycles made of bones, bejeweled drag racers, and even a Ram truck molded to look like a monster—with the driver’s seat right in the beast’s mouth.The J. Paul Getty Museum | Los Angeles, CAThe Getty is both a cultural and a physical landmark, clearly visible from its perch above Interstate 405’s Sepulveda Pass. Visitors here can explore celebrated artworks hailing from both sides of the Atlantic and dating back to Antiquity. The collection includes works by Impressionist masters, unmistakable paintings by Jackson Pollock, and even studies by Leonardo da Vinci.The National Museum of the American Indian | New York City, NYDedicated to the diversity of the Native American nations spread across North, Central, and South America, The National Museum of the American Indian hosts rotating and touring exhibits throughout the year. Artifacts run the gamut from headdresses to intricate jewelry, and one ongoing exhibition features a study of traditional dances.Photos: Museum of the American Indian, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. | Spirit of St. Louis courtesy of Smithsonian Air and Space Museum | Shoe thrown at President George W. Bush, 2008. Courtesy of The Museum. | Fuente, Larry. Derby Racer. 1975. Mixed Media: Metal, Glass, Mirrors, and Plastics. Courtesy of Art Car Museum | Getty gallery with girl, courtesy of The Getty’s Facebook page. | Yupik dance outfit, Circle of Dance exhibit. Courtesy of The National Museum of the American Indian.Discover more museums:The Top Five US Museum Exhibits to Add to Your Bucket ListField Museums's Urban Anthropology Collection Spotlights Everyday Items